DIY Self Watering Raised Garden Bed
A lot of people have been asking me for simple builds that don’t use many tools, and these raised garden beds are a perfect example of that.
Not only are they simple to put together, but they look awesome and have their own built-in, low-pressure watering system so you don’t need to spend all your time watering plants.
Here’s how I did it, and how you can do it too:
DIY Self Watering Raised Garden Bed
How to Build DIY Self Watering Raised Garden Beds: A Tutorial
Create the Platforms
To build these garden beds, we are mainly going to use cedar thanks to its weather-resistant properties.
To begin, we can cut the cedar to size and use it to create two platforms, one for the bottom base and one to go on top.
Build the Risers
To create our risers we’re going to cut our cedar up to 23”.
And connect them at right angles.
Start Assembly
With all our components built, it’s time to assemble the entire thing.
We can start by attaching the rises to the corners of the bottom frame.
And then turning it over and drilling it into the top frame.
Add the Top Trim
With that done, we can go ahead and add the trim around the top frame.
Shou Sugi Ban
Next, we’re going to use a process called Shou Sugi Ban to protect the wood by charring it.
This makes it more weather resistant and more durable.
Brush and Coat
When done, we can go over the frame with a stiff brush to get rid of the residue ash and soot before giving the whole thing a few coats of linseed oil.
Add the Metal Finish
When everything is dry we can take our metal sheets...
Cut them to size.
And screw them into place to finish off our box.
Add the Water System
With the box done, we can get to work on attaching the low-pressure watering system so that our new garden bed can become self-watering.
Putting it All Together
Next, we need to lay some pavers so that we can put the box on top of them.
Then we can use cardboard or whatever you prefer to use as an effective weed barrier.
Then, finally, after connecting up the rest of the water system, we can add topsoil and compost, turn the whole thing on, and there you go.
